AndCallMeCharlie wrote:

Would have had the top 2 the other way around but interesting list I really wanted to love astral chain but it just tried to much and became unfocused imo

I know what you mean about Astral Chain, but, by the time it became unfocused I finally grasped the combat really well and thought 'fuck this is great'. So it kinda offset that by the fact as I'd learnt how to have a blast with it.

2010 - Mass Effect 2
2011 - Dead Space 2 (Saints Row 3 close)
2012 - most difficult one! Persona 4 Golden nicked it.
2013 - Gone Home
2014 - 80 Days
2015 - Super Mario Maker
2016 - Final Fantasy XV
2017 - Nier Automata
2018 - Celeste
2019 - Apex Legends

I sort of really dug mass effect 2 but I think in retrospect the thing got a better emotion because it was riding the wake of a con.

2009: Batman: Arkham Asylum
2010: Mass Effect 2
2011: Rayman Origins
2012: Walkings Dead
2013: GTA V
2014: Titanfall
2015: Mortal Kombat X
2016: Titanfall 2
2017: Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018: Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Mortal Kombat 11

So now that has been narrowed down it makes it easier to pick a game of the decade I guess.

There are a few there that my brain tells me are the obvious choice. In the year my choice came out there were also games that my brain said were correct that I didnt choose (Skyrim etc).
I have to go with my heart though and it is Rayman Origins.

In 2011 I was a year into my first career job. I was living with 2 workmates who were now close mates. Our house was massive but crap so it was the party house for New Years, Halloween etc or just drinks. People would regularly come to ours from work on a Friday for beers and games.

One Friday there were six of us getting slowly pissed playing Rayman to an ever decreasing level of competence. So many hilarious moments trying to coop while slapping each other, pass the pad each level/fail. I remember my face aching from laughter. It wasn't that long we were all together, about a year or so later we all got made redundant and went our separate ways, keeping in touch but never really having that closeness anymore.

Unfortunately one of the two housemates passed away a year or two after that but playing Rayman with him and the other guys will always be a great memory of him for me.

So Rayman gets a boost up from strong memories and great circumstances but I think a lot of our favourite media does.

Game of the decade
Rayman: Origins

Game of the Year
1. Wreckfest
2. Ape Out
3. The Touryst
4. Mechstermination Force
5. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

The rest of 2019’s games that I have played (to varying degrees): Active Soccer 2019, American Fugitive, Asphalt 9: Legends, Astral Chain, Double Cross, Fifty Words, FutureGrind, Hard West, Immortal Planet, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Mini Trains, My Memory of Us, New Star Manager, REKT, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Space Pioneer, The Stillness of the Wind, Super Mario Maker 2, Trials Rising, Untitled Goose Game, Yoshi’s Crafted World. I also bought, but have not even opened, Selma and the Wisp.


Best Sound Design
1. Ape Out
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
3. Super Mario Maker 2

First place is a given, really. For Zelda, a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the pre-existing melodies, but the orchestration is lovely. I realised, as I watched an entry about the game in a recent list article about remakes, how much I had enjoyed things like the music you hear when facing bosses. Mario Maker gets in purely for the self-describing noises different elements make as you place them in your level.


Best Visual Design
1. Ape Out
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
3. The Touryst

Really difficult round, this. Various games I like looking at: Mechstermination Force, Yoshi’s Crafted World, FutureGrind, REKT, Immortal Planet, Space Pioneer, My Memory of Us. I’ll include Astral Chain, but for the design rather than the execution.


Best Writing
1. Mechstermination Force
2. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
3. The Stillness of the Wind

Nothing really jumped out at me for this round. The writing in MF is knowingly daft. MUA3 wasn’t the most exceptional story, but it was perfectly serviceable. I haven’t played much of Stillness, but I like what it’s doing.


Best Character
1. Goose
2. Ape
3. RIFT Agent Zahra Sinclair (Double Cross)

No individual character has really rocked my world this year. I struggled to populate this one.


Best Ongoing Game
1. Stardew Valley

I confess, I haven’t tried the 1.4 update, it’s not available on Switch yet, but there’s loads in there.


Best game you played this year that didn't come out this year
1. Marvel’s Spider-man

Insomniac are an incredible studio. What a game.


Game of the Decade
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2. Marvel’s Spider-man
3. No Man’s Sky
4. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
5. Sleeping Dogs
6. The Last of Us
7. Uncharted 4
8. Stardew Valley
9. Mad Max
10. ARMS

If I think about this too much it’ll drive me insane.

XOMuggins wrote:

My favourite games of the decade: 2010: Red Dead Redemption 2011: Skyrim 2012: The Walking Dead 2013: Bioshock Infinite 2014: The Evil Within  2015: Batman: Arkham Knight 2016: Firewatch  2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2018: Red Dead Redemption II 2019: Resident Evil 2

So my Game of the Decade is tough for me, as the last ten years has seen video games fully mature into the medium that I always hoped they would become, *especially* in terms of storytelling and how to make the interactive component bring a sense of immersion not available anywhere else. There are many games that I loved that got pushed out of my list above, including some great smaller games like Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch and Her Story and Journey. My Game of the Decade is between two games: Bioshock Infinite and Red Dead Redemption II. I know I have told this story before, but when I had my breakdown some years back, Irrational's game was heavily involved in my recovery, including intervening - as it felt then - in an attempt to end my life. It is a game that still brings me hope, that allows me to confront the bad things in my head and process it in a way that brings relief and joy. I still play it today when I feel low or that things are getting worse. 

It's hard then for me to say that as much as I adore Infinite the last year has shown me that Red Dead Redemption II is my favourite game of the last ten years. I am a big Westerns fan but even if I wasn't, I would still love what Rockstar did here. As with Infinite, this game has been so therapeutic for me, especially as my illness often means I can't leave the house as much as I would like. Just exploring this world would be enough to name it my favourite game, but on top of that there is a story that easily stands beside the greatest films in the genre. I love the character of Arthur and helping him reach that redemption has made me cry more than a few times since I got the game last year. Playing it is like meditating for me. I have finished it ten times and I am still finding little details in the world: most recent one is finding a post carriage with loads of letters that let you uncover the mystery of Emerald Ranch. Anyway, it's been a big part in helping me continue my recovery and I am in awe of how well written/executed it is. It's a world I could live in, forever.

Game of the Year
1. Outer Wilds
2. Fire Emblem Three Houses
3. Untitled Goose Game
4. Astral Chain
5. Baba is You
 
Best sound Design
1. Outer Wilds
2. Untitled Goose Game
3. Astral Chain

Best visual Design
1. Untitled Goose Game
2. Astral Chain
3. Ace Combat 7

Best writing
1. Outer Wilds
2. Baba is You
3. Fire Emblem Three Houses

Best character
1. Solanum (Outer Wilds)
2. Goose
3. Edelgard (Crimson Flower path).

Best ongoing game released before 2019 (anything that received further support, a major expansion/update etc. this year)
1. Captain Toad (Special Episode)
 
Best game you played this year that didn't come out this year
1. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
 
Game of the Decade
1. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Yakuza 0
4. The Wonderful 101
5. Animal Crossing New Leaf
6. Outer Wilds
7. Pikmin 3
8. Fire Emblem Awakening
9. Sin and Punishment Star Successor
10.Bravely Default

(note: one entry per franchise)

All of that is normal.

I died before I even found my space ship. Really should get back to it, but it went straight into the "it's nice enough but about seventeen other things are catching my eye right now" pile ages ago.

So I shall go back

regmcfly wrote:

I'm absolutely sure it's my own fault and I've fucked up on outer Wilds. I played it for an hour and I walked around a charming village, then took off to space and had wonky mechanics , died and then gave up. Again, I'm sure it's me, but I should totally go back right?

Snap

Spec Ops (no.8 )?

Quality game.

That's a good ten and proboubly very close to my own.

What's the ruling on standalone DLC that doesn't necessarily require a copy of the original game?  Wondering about Shovel Knight: King of Cards.